Patriot (American Revolution)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article concerns Patriots in the American Revolutionary War. For other uses of the word "patriot", see the disambiguation page.
Patriots (also known as Americans, Whigs, Congress-Men or Rebels) were colonists of British Thirteen Colonies who rebelled against the British control during the American Revolution and declared themselves an independent nation, the United States of America in July 1776. Their rebellion was based on the political philosophy of republicanism, as expressed by pamphleteers such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Paine.
As a group, Patriots comprised men and women representing the full array of social, economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds. They included college students like Alexander Hamilton, to planters like Thomas Jefferson, and plain farmers like Daniel Shays and Joseph Plumb Martin. Their opponents among fellow colonists were the Loyalists, who remained loyal to the British Crown. (In addition many people remained neutral or said nothing.)
Many Patriots were active before 1775 in groups such as the Sons of Liberty. The most prominent leaders of the Patriots are referred to this day by Americans as Founding Fathers of the United States.
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[edit] References
- Joseph J. Ellis. Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation (2002), Pulitzer Prize
- Mark E. Kann; The Gendering of American Politics: Founding Mothers, Founding Fathers, and Political Patriarchy Praeger, 1999 online version
- Robert Middlekauff; The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (2005) online version
- John C. Miller; Origins of the American Revolution. (1943) online version
- John C. Miller; Triumph of Freedom, 1775-1783, (1948) online version
- Robert Previdi; "Vindicating the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and Justice in the Origins of America," Presidential Studies Quarterly, Vol. 29, 1999
- Ray Raphael. A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence (2002)
- Cokie Roberts. Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation (2005)
[edit] List of prominent Patriots
Note: most of the individuals listed below served the Revolution in multiple capacities. The classifications below are in suggestion of those for which they have most been remembered.
[edit] Statesmen and office holders
[edit] Pamphleteers and activists
[edit] Military officers
See also List of important people in the era of the American Revolution.
